Natick, MA (PRWEB) September 15, 2006
Recent developments in organic electronic materials and processing are creating new opportunities for manufacturing lower cost electronic circuits and devices. Though still inferior to silicon-based technologies, these new materials and products have the potential to significantly influence the electronic circuit and display technology industries. Seeing that ICs represent approximately 30-50% of a typical passive RFID transponder, these new developments could reduce tag prices to below $ 0.05 finally achieving expected pricing levels and providing a unique identification (UID) code for item-level applications.
“Organic, polymer-based, or chip-less RFID tags could bring tag prices down below five cents, at which point the potential of item-level RFID tagging should be realized, cited Louis Bianchin, Senior RFID Analyst at Venture Development Corporation. An organic RFID tag, as opposed to silicon-based RFID tags, can provide higher yields, decrease material costs, and reduce the number of processing steps. Printed electronics are expected to influence the manufacturing process by providing:
Less rejects due to IC- and antenna-related issues (detachment, defecting product, etc.)
Fewer manufacturing steps (No IC/antenna attachment, less inlay processing, etc.)
Reduced material and component costs (reduced demand for outsourced components, ability to use thinner and lower cost substrates, fewer rejects/replacements, etc.)
Another advantage of printed electronics is the potentially simplified integration of the RFID label into the end products. For example, thin and flexible electronic circuits can be applied to packaging materials by laminating, labeling, or by direct application eventually enabling a one-step process for printing and applying RFID transponders on a product. Eventually, printed electronics are expected to be integrated directly into the package – thus creating “intelligent or smart products” that can communicate with readers or other RFID tags.
Devices based on organic electronics are still in development and are currently perceived to be inferior to those of silicon. Based on preliminary results, VDC feels that the performance of available organic semiconductor technology is sufficient for low-cost circuits used in less complex applications that require lower IC performance. With additional development, design and manufacturing process improvements this technology could become viable for the production of high-volume; low-cost RFID transponders – changing the way in which RFID tags are manufactured, priced, and applied.
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM THE RFID BUSINESS PLANNING SERVICE
2005-2006 GLOBAL ASSET AND TRANSACTION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS MARKET ANALYSIS
Vertical Markets
Automotive
CPG Supply Chain
Electronics
Federal Government
Health Care Services
Pharmaceutical
Transportation & Distribution
Retail POS
Product/Service Offering Analyses
Contactless Smartcard Systems
Printer/Encoders
Readers
Transponders
RFID Middleware*
Professional Services*
Advanced Feature Systems*
RFID Middleware, Professional Services, and Advanced Feature Systems will be released at the end of this month.
For more information on VDC’s market analyses, go to: http://www.vdc-corp.com/Default.asp
ABOUT VDC
The Automatic Identification and Data Collection Practice Bulletin is published as part of VDCs extensive coverage of the AIDC/RFID industry. VDC has been providing AIDC/RFID market intelligence for over 20 years. Published by Venture Development Corporation. Copyright 2006, all rights reserved.
Editors:
Andrew Nathanson
Louis Bianchin
Shan shan Chu
Rudie Lion
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